Consent course for Melbourne Uni students

Camera IconStudents at the University of Melbourne will be asked to complete a course on sexual consent (File).

Sexual consent is the focus of an online course every new student at the University of Melbourne is expected to complete in 2018.

The university says new students be will be required to complete the e-learning module, which takes up to 90 minutes, as part of accepting their course offer.

The evidence-based module, Epigeum's Consent Matters, was developed by academics in the UK and Australia and includes cartoon scenarios and quizzes.

University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard James said it is part of a range of new initiatives designed to "strengthen the university's culture, policies and practices".

The move means the university joins the University of Sydney, UniSA, Flinders and Adelaide universities in asking students to complete the course, which provides advice on safe and respectful sexual relationships.

It also comes after a damning report last year found one in five students from Australia's 39 universities were sexually harassed either on campus, travelling to or from uni, or at uni-related events or workplaces in 2016.

The Human Rights Commission report also found 1.6 per cent of students were sexually assaulted in the past two years.